Cheap Cars? Not Anymore. Here Are Some Major Price Hikes on Affordable Cars

• Manufacturers consistently update their cars, asking for more money each time.
• Some recent offenders include the Nissan Titan and Honda Civic.
• The cheap car isn't staying cheap.

There's no two ways about it: Cheap cars are far, far harder to come by right now. That's not a new story — due to recent inflation and stagnant wages, everything has become expensive. But even cars that have reliably served the lower end of the market have seen four-digit price hikes. Honda, Subaru, Nissan, and more are commanding a lot more coin for some of their cheapest cars. These are the most notable.

Nissan Titan

The Nissan Titan took a jump in price, but it's not as though the 2024 model year brought with is wild changes to this aging truck. The truck lost its base trim level and the only major addition was a Bronze Edition package. But because the base model is gone, the cheapest Titan now costs $48,700 (including destination). That’s more than $5,000 more than last year’s base price of $42,245.

Honda Civic (and Type R)

The Honda Civic was a byword for the affordable car, but we’re worried that isn’t the case with some Civics. While the base model’s $25,345 price is still reasonably affordable, other spots in the Civic lineup have seen some eye-watering price changes. It wasn't that long ago (2018, specifically) that a base Civic was less than $20,000. Hatchback models now don’t have a base LX trim anymore, making the Civic Hatchback Sport the entry point, at $28,545.

The Civic Type R made an arguably more egregious price leap. Honda’s trim restructuring of the base Civic and its new hybrid powertrains help justify an increase, but the Civic Type R hasn't been changed at all, and that makes the $2,700 increase in price from its 2023 debut hard to swallow. Now, the Type R starts at $46,690, a full $800 more than last year.

Subaru BRZ

Affordable performance cars increasingly fall victim to price increases as initial demand for a model falls off. The Subaru BRZ is no exception, but price increases aren’t helping. For 2024, minor aesthetic changes like new stitching, combined with a new (and arguably unnecessary) Sport mode, brought prices up depending on the trim between $950 and $1,100. Buyers now have to shell out $31,315 to get the bare minimum — and any desirable option drives that price much higher. For reference, when the BRZ debuted in 2022 it started at less than $30,000.

Hyundai Santa Cruz

Hyundai updated the Santa Cruz for the 2025 model year with new equipment and new looks, but like the others on this list, it also raised the price as a result. After a $1,910 price increase, the base Santa Cruz SE now costs $29,895. That’s a fair few thousand more than just a few years ago. When the small truck debuted in 2022, its base trim cost $27,035.

Honda Pilot

The Honda Pilot is another car that's only gotten pricier, seeing a $2,810 price increase from 2023 to 2024. Now, the 2025 model year Pilot will cost buyers $41,595. The Pilot saw some minor updates, but it’s far more expensive than it was just a few years ago. A 2023 model ran $37,295. Moreover, all of these prices exclude optional all-wheel drive, which for the 2025 model year moves the base price to $43,695.

Higher asking prices from auto manufacturers are, of course, just one piece of a much larger, more complex puzzle. These price hikes aren't completely out of line with the jump in average transaction price from 2019 to 2024 — a 32% jump from $33,700 to $48,401. But in the end what that means is the lower end of the market gets smaller and smaller year over year — bad news for consumers who need to shop for inexpensive transportation.